ooc: 7 & 18
If they could kill or harm another, without repercussions, would they? Who would it be? To what extent?
Manus must have surely been the best option for a long time, after all an earlier death could have prevented the spread of Abyss and all the losses that involved. All the people of Oolacile who fell to their desire for humanity, and perhaps most importantly for him, the rest of the Knights of Gwyn. The Abyss not only made Ornstein lose some of his closest friends in his immensely extensive life, it was also perhaps the clearest form of defeat Anor Londo had suffered until then, even if it was alleviated by the subsequent legend of Artorias.
Before his departure to seek Gwyn’s Firstborn, it is hard to say whom he would have wished to kill. Kaathe and darkwraiths probably, but with the purpose of eliminating a threat, not out of a desire to watch them suffer. He has been hunting the remaining Ancient Dragons for ages, but even that isn’t a personal matter to him, it is simply the task he was assigned, so he already slays them without ‘repercussion’. The only one he could consider worth killing would be Seath, once his madness had become evident, Ornstein is already at least partially aware of the immoral nature of the Duke’s experiments, but... to what extent is he free of repercussions? Even if he wasn’t punished for it, he wouldn’t attempt to kill the Duke, it is the fact that Seath is an ally to Gwyn’s family (and also useful to the latter) that prevents the Dragonslayer from plotting against him. If somehow they could have another powerful and knowledgeable researcher take his place without negative consequences to Anor Londo, Ornstein would gladly take care of the deed.
His Dark Souls 3 Verse is the most obvious case: there is little he would enjoy more than to destroy Aldrich and Sulyvahn, if he could. But alas, his power in this verse is significantly diminished, and Ornstein has come to the conclusion that perhaps it’s best that he stays on the sidelines of the grand scheme of things. The time of gods seems to have ended some time ago...
Was violence a big part of their childhood?
Ornstein wasn’t involved in any serious fights as a child, so the closest thing to violence he experienced was the oppressive nature of the world he lived in, as the surface was ruled by the seemingly unbeatable, territorial dragons while his kind lived in caves and darkness, a constant struggle to find food and water that hadn’t already been claimed by far stronger and experienced beings. It’s worth noting that from a young age Ornstein was trained by his father in combat, although the latter never pushed him too far and mostly gave him lessons that involved careful instructing and repetition, hardly comparable to an intense sparring session. Ornstein was also a shy child with little spare time due to their harsh circumstances, so he didn’t make friends easily and didn’t really have the chance to fight them, be it playfully or angrily.
